Covert Laptop lcd to VGA

[andypress]

I just got an older laptop from a nieghbor, and since the battery was shit, I decided to take it apart. I want to use the screen for applications or just an info display. There seems to be a 15 pin interface on the screen, and it was hooked up to a parer thin ribon cable. How do I output this to a 15 pin VGA? http://img.photobucket.com/alb...parasitic/DSC00291.jpg

 

[plastick]

Originally posted by: andypress
I just got an older laptop from a nieghbor, and since the battery was shit, I decided to take it apart. I want to use the screen for applications or just an info display. There seems to be a 15 pin interface on the screen, and it was hooked up to a parer thin ribon cable. How do I output this to a 15 pin VGA? http://img.photobucket.com/alb...parasitic/DSC00291.jpg

Dude thats pretty cool. I was just recently trying to think of ways that I could do that same thing...never tried it though.

But I assume you would probably find a spare 15 pin male connector and use the wires on the other end of that and sodder them together to match up with the right wires in your LCD ribbon.

I really dont know if this would work, but its worth a try. Let me know how it turns out.

 

[helpme]

Usually Laptop LCDs don't use DVI-I/D, so you can't directly hook up your analog D-Sub connection.

They usually use Low voltage differential signaling, where as DVI uses transition minimized differential signaling.

 

[plastick]

Yeah.. listen to the guy above...




Hey Helpme.. whats that dual atholon like?? is that two athlons in there?

 

[helpme]

Originally posted by: plastick
Yeah.. listen to the guy above...




Hey Helpme.. whats that dual atholon like?? is that two athlons in there?

Uh, yeah. It's two Athlon MP 2800+ on a Tyan S2466-4N. It's been outdated by the the Opterons, but it's still a pretty good system.

 

[andypress]

I never planned on using DVI.... I planned on using old-fashioned VGA.

 

[Peter]

For quite obvious reasons, laptop internal graphics does not first convert the digital image information into analog VGA only to then resample it into digital format two inches from where it was digital to begin with. What you're looking at is an LVDS or TDMS connector.

Even if TMDS is the foundation of DVI, you won't be able to make a DVI monitor from it - it's lacking the Plug&Play mechanisms that would let an ordinary graphics card detect its capabilities. Notebook graphics BIOSes are configured to know the timings of the display device that comes with it.

In other words: Forget it.

(As it happens, this question turns up here regularly. Did you know this forum has a "Search" function?)

 

[andypress]

Originally posted by: Peter
For quite obvious reasons, laptop internal graphics does not first convert the digital image information into analog VGA only to then resample it into digital format two inches from where it was digital to begin with. What you're looking at is an LVDS or TDMS connector.

Even if TMDS is the foundation of DVI, you won't be able to make a DVI monitor from it - it's lacking the Plug&Play mechanisms that would let an ordinary graphics card detect its capabilities. Notebook graphics BIOSes are configured to know the timings of the display device that comes with it.

In other words: Forget it.

(As it happens, this question turns up here regularly. Did you know this forum has a "Search" function?)

No crap. I know what "search" is.

 

[andypress]

Originally posted by: Peter
For quite obvious reasons, laptop internal graphics does not first convert the digital image information into analog VGA only to then resample it into digital format two inches from where it was digital to begin with. What you're looking at is an LVDS or TDMS connector.

Even if TMDS is the foundation of DVI, you won't be able to make a DVI monitor from it - it's lacking the Plug&Play mechanisms that would let an ordinary graphics card detect its capabilities. Notebook graphics BIOSes are configured to know the timings of the display device that comes with it.

In other words: Forget it.

(As it happens, this question turns up here regularly. Did you know this forum has a "Search" function?)

And btw, I just searched, it brought up two topics. One on using a laptops display while its still connected into a working laptop, and the other one provides an equally uselss link.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: andypress
I never planned on using DVI.... I planned on using old-fashioned VGA.

As said before the interface is most likely LVDS. The levels are in the order of 50mV so this operation is not really plug-and-play.

 

[andypress]

This thing is from 1994- was LVDS around then? Or was there another standard?

 

[Peter]

In 1994 you'd simply feed the digital signal as it is, TTL level logic, parallel. Those VGA->digital resampler boards didn't even appear until LCD screens hit the desktop.

If you want to figure it out for the sake of science, you should start by looking at what graphics chip the machine has. Then we'll have a better clue as to what kind of signal is being generated.